The Unimog

A child of many parents

First drafts as early as 1945

It was in the autumn of 1945 that the first drawings for an agricultural vehicle were produced by Albert Friedrich, the former head of aircraft engine design at Daimler-Benz. Friedrich surrounded himself with a team of committed development specialists, then formed a development partnership with Erhard und Söhne of Schwäbisch Gmünd.

Series production at the toolmaking company Gebrüder Boehringer in Göppingen begins in 1948. As a large investment is necessary to achieve a high production volume,in autumn 1950 Daimler-Benz takes over the project; production at the Gaggenau plantcommences in 1951. Since 1953 the Unimog has borne theMercedes star. In the same year an enclosed cab is added to the previous cab which only had a folding soft top.

The Unimog S started its career two years later, soon proving extremely popular with the military and later in the civilian sector. In production until 1980, it is the best-selling series in Unimog history.